Spain security guard exam (vigilante)

How the exam works

• FirstA course of at least 180 hours at an authorised training centre
• Test 1Physical tests, marked pass or fail
• Test 2100 multiple-choice questions in 50 minutes, 3 options each, one correct
• Exam fee€23.34; TIP fee after passing: €64.16

• Each wrong answer costs half a right one; the pass mark is 5 out of 10
• 3 rounds a year (2026); dates are set in each round's rules

Who needs it

Anyone who wants to work as a security guard. It is also the base for explosives guards. The rules ask that you are an adult (18), a national of an EU or EEA country (or a treaty country), hold ESO, a Técnico diploma or equivalent, are physically and mentally fit, have no record for intentional crimes and hold the course diploma. Ley 5/2014 exempts holders of the private-security certificado de profesionalidad or vocational diploma from the knowledge test; ask the Policía Nacional how this applies to you.

First, the 180-hour course

Before you apply you must complete a course of at least 180 teaching hours over six weeks at an authorised private-security training centre. At most half may be distance learning. Each centre sets its own course price.

The physical tests

They come first and are eliminatory: the result is pass or fail. You must bring an original medical certificate dated within the application window. Depending on age and sex, the exercises are pull-ups or a medicine-ball throw, a vertical jump and a 400-metre run. The minimum marks are in Annex II of the rules published in the BOE.

The knowledge test

Only candidates who pass the physical tests sit it. It has 100 questions on the official syllabus (57 topics across the legal, socio-professional, technical-professional and instrumental areas), in 50 minutes, on an optical answer sheet. The score is right answers minus half the wrong ones, scaled to 0–10; blanks neither add nor subtract. The pass mark is 5: for example, 60 right, 20 wrong and 20 blank gives exactly 5. After the test there are 2 calendar days to challenge questions.

Rounds and registration

There were 3 rounds in 2026, with application windows in January, April and September. You register online only, on the Policía Nacional Portal del Aspirante (with Cl@ve or a DNI/NIE): form 790 code 015, online payment of the €23.34 fee and an electronic signature. The fee covers only the round you apply for. The 2026 test cities are the Balearic Islands, Cádiz, Granada, Madrid, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Santiago, Tarragona, Valencia and Zaragoza; the board may change them, and you cannot change city or date once the admitted list is out. The 2027 rules have not been published yet.

After passing: the TIP

If you pass, you send your documents within 10 working days and apply for the professional ID card within 3 months, paying the €64.16 licence fee. If 2 years pass without applying for the TIP, you must pass the tests again. Guards who stop working for more than 2 years must pass new tests or a 40-hour refresher course.

How to practise

FreeExamPath writes its practice questions from the BOE syllabus and the law texts. They are not official exam questions, and FreeExamPath is not affiliated with the Ministry of the Interior or the Policía Nacional. Figures from the rules are based on data from the Boletín Oficial del Estado; this page is not an official publication.

Official information

• Rules for the 2026 rounds (BOE)
• Policía Nacional: Portal del Aspirante, private security
• Ministry of the Interior: security guards
• Orden INT/318/2011 on private security staff

Questions about the Spanish security guard exam